Prepare for a new chapter Vowing that when his season resumes it will “be a different story,” Rockets forward Tracy McGrady said Tuesday that his plan to go through his offseason conditioning regimen in the next two weeks would dramatically improve his play. “I think it’s a very important decision,” McGrady said. “It’s been a tough season, my toughest season. You anticipate the season coming off a disappointing playoffs, not having our big man, again exiting out of the first round. So you get those additions with Ron (Artest) and the other guys we added to this team. That anticipation builds up. “It wasn’t my normal offseason. It wasn’t my normal training camp. It’s been tough physically and mentally. I tried to go out and play on one leg. This league is too good. Me trying to get our team off to a good start kind of hurt me a little bit and maybe put our team somewhat in a funk. “I’m going to bust my butt to try to get back.” http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/6209913.html c'mon tracy, this season is too important to waste.
So McGrady basically admits that he was hurting the team by being out there. I just wish they had done what the Spurs did with Parker/Ginobili and the Jazz did with Deron Williams. At worst we would have had a semi-slow start to the season, but by now the team should have been coming together and starting to switch into high gear. Instead we have drama and all this nonsense.
Wow lemme summarize all that text above. "You deserve better from me. I can be better. I will be better."
it was good to hear him say he was the reason for their "funk." tracy's gonna get it together eventually. but i agree with you. if tracy had sat out the first month of the season like he anticipated too (battier was supposed to return for the opener but was delayed for the longest time), none of this nonsense would have happened.
Two weeks is not enough time to make any immediate change in physical condition. If he is serious, he needs to take a month off or longer to really make strides in conditioning and rehab.
It is all in his head.........all in his head.....all in his head......... Tmac has to get in the gym, explode a bit...figure out his knee won't blow up if he pushes it....... 2 weeks is enough to get his confidence back...that is what he needs.....more than anything....the confidence to go full out and not worry about some minor discomfort. DD
He should have said that......that is something people can respect. Tmac is like Roger Clemens denying he used roids...everyone knows Roger did...just like everyone knows Tmac didn't do his rehab.... They both have zero credibility......but if they were like Andy Pettite and just said..."Yep, I screwed up"....all would be forgiven. DD
I think that is part of the problem; however, even at times when he drove at full speed to the basket this season, he was unable to generate lift for a dunk. I don't recall one dunk by Tracy this season, that is alarming to me.
It is not that he is UNABLE to generate lift, it is that he is babying it, and is not pushing through it to generate the lift. He can jump, he CAN lift...he has thus far...chosen not to, because he is afraid he might hurt it worse...even after tons of doctors have told him he won't. He needs to just...do it. DD
After the All-Star break, I'm going to post a poll (although with this post, someone will do it before then). Will McGrady ever be T-Mac again this season? Y or N The answer is no. If this is the case, are the Rockets championship contenders? Again, the answer is no. I hate to be a downer, but it's time to reset expectations for this team.
so for now, from all your comments, i've gathered the following information. tmac was on his way to the pc and injuried himself again, he decided to marry himself even tho he had an dislocated vagina. So He is trying to decide if he wants to retire and play in the minor league softball, or WNBA to raise his confidence. He also dislikes clutchfans because posters here hurt his feelings. He even refuses to take back to back interviews just to make sure his rehab is on the right track.
If you see the quotes from the Hollinger article, he did admit that reviewing tape he saw occasions when he was too afraid to jump or drive etc. on stuff like fast break opportunities or just scoring opportunities. He says pretty explicitly that it is both physical and mental for him ... and even though he didn't expound on it, in this quote he admits to himself being responsible for putting the team "in a funk". Honesty isn't the problem with T-Mac. Poor judgment is the problem -- it has always been the problem. Making unwise decisions. Not knowing that sometimes the right thing to say is nothing at all. Trying to play on one leg in this league instead of following through on rehab and doing it until it's complete. That godawful first game of back-to-backs idea. I think that the surgery definitely screwed up his normal offseason routine, but he has mismanaged the situation so badly that we have come to this low point. There is plenty of opportunity for redemption. I really don't mind (and would even prefer) if he took a whole month instead of two weeks. But he certainly does need to get himself back together. He has tried to be his usual T-Mac self, and it really did not turn out well for him at all. All that locker room stuff ... I really don't care much about. Friction happens, arguments happen. Many of us have had major arguments with very close friends and family before. I believe the bond between those guys (including McGrady) is more than strong enough to withstand all that. He has never had the reputation of being a loner or a standoffish guy in the locker room. He just needs to get his act together, and I'm sure his teammates have communicated that to him in no uncertain terms. Meanwhile, the rest of the team has to start stepping up. They have lots of work cut out for them too. Some of the 4th quarter failings we saw last night have to be corrected. I sort of disagree with Hollinger when he says that only McGrady can fill that void -- these guys have to be confident enough to do what they need to do too. This team is not going to reach the promised land without McGrady, but McGrady won't reach the promised land if this team doesn't fulfill its full potential either.
Fans. All this talk about, "I only think the Hornets and Lakers are in our way" is a bunch of wishful thinking. The Rockets are the #8 seed right now for a reason. Unless Tracy can find a witch doctor for his knee like he did for his back, the Rockets aren't a contender. They play better as a team without him but there isn't enough talent to do damage in the playoffs. And let me repeat something: Even if everyone is "healthy" for the playoffs, if they don't get 30-35 games together to work out the bugs and develop true cohesion, the Rockets will be first round roadkill again. It's predictable. There are 30 games after the All-Star break. If the roster isn't intact and fully healthy by then, stick a fork in this team's hopes to make the Finals.
